Holder for a beverage container

ABSTRACT

A holder in a motor vehicle, for holding a beverage container such as, for example, a beverage can so that it does not tip over, has an upwardly and downwardly movable holding ring which is moved upwards and downwards by a dead-center spring element after a dead center has been overcome, and covers which are opened when the holding ring is raised and closed when the holding ring is lowered.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The invention described and claimed hereinbelow is also described in German Patent Application DE 10 2007 048 947.3 filed on Oct. 12, 2007. This German Patent Application, whose subject matter is incorporated here by reference, provides the basis for a claim of priority of invention under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d).

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a holder for a beverage container.

Holders of that kind are known; they are frequently installed in motor vehicles in order to hold beverage containers so that they do not tip over, They have an insertion opening for inserting a beverage container, for example a beverage can, a cup, a beaker or a bottle. Holders are known which have a holding ring that is guided by means of a guideway, for example a slideway, so that it is movable up and down between a raised position and a lowered position. The holding ring therefore performs a reciprocating movement between its end positions, the directional terms “raising”, “lowering”, “up” and “down” being used with reference to an intended installation position of the holder.

The holding ring contains the insertion opening for the beverage container, the words “holding ring” being understood not in terms of a ring shape but rather in terms of the possibility of inserting a beverage container. Likewise, the holding ring does not have to be continuous in the circumferential direction. Raising the holding ring increases the beverage container insertion height in order to hold the beverage container so that it does not tip over. When not being used or when a short beverage container is inserted, the holding ring can be lowered.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a holder for a beverage container, which is a further improvement of the existing beverage containers.

In keeping with these objects and with others which have been apparent hereinafter, one feature of the present invention recites, briefly stated, in a holder that has a dead-center spring element which, after a dead center in one direction has been overcome, urges the holding ring into the raised position and, after the dead center in the other direction has been overcome, urges the holding ring into the lowered position.

Such dead-center spring elements are also referred to as bi-stable spring elements. The dead-center spring element does not have to be a special spring but can, for example, be a conventional compression spring or even tension spring, that is to say, for example, a helical spring or leg spring. The spring is so mounted that it is more highly stressed at the dead center than at the end points. When the holding ring is moved from the lowered or raised position, the dead-center spring element is subjected to (greater) stressing and relaxes (partly) after the dead center has been overcome. As a result, after the dead center has been overcome, the dead-center spring element raises the holding ring fully into the raised position or, when being moved in the opposite direction, lowers the holding ring into the lowered position. In addition, the dead-center spring element holds the holding ring in the raised position and lowered position.

The holder according to the invention furthermore has an operating element, which acts on the holding ring with play. The operating element can act on the holding ring directly or indirectly by way of drive members, for example gear wheels or levers. As a result of the play it is possible to move the operating element back into a neutral position between its end positions when the holding ring has been moved up or down into the raised or lowered position by the dead-center spring element after the dead center of the latter has been overcome.

For raising the holding ring, the operating element is moved out of the neutral position in one direction and, for lowering the holding ring, out of the neutral position in the other direction; the starting position is always the neutral position. The play of the operating element should therefore be of sufficient magnitude that, when the holding ring is in either end position, the operating element can be moved back into the neutral position. For this purpose, in one embodiment of the invention, the operating element is provided with play which is about half of the displacement of the holding ring.

In one embodiment there is provided a return spring which urges the operating element into the neutral position so that it returns to the neutral position under spring loading after the holding ring has been raised or lowered.

In one embodiment, in order to obtain the desired play between the operating element and the holding ring, two jointly movable stops are provided. The two stops can be formed on a common component, for example the operating element. Two pins, lugs or the like between which the operating element engages and which are located on, for example, a gear wheel of a drive of the holding ring can also form the two jointly movable stops. Arrangements are also feasible in which the jointly movable stops are formed on different components connected in terms of drive. One of the stops moves the holding ring upwards, the other downwards. The desired play is obtained by way of the spacing between the stops.

In a development of the invention there is provided a displacer having a recess the edges of which, spaced apart in the direction of movement of the displacer, form the two stops. In addition to a linearly displaceable displacer having a recess which extends in the direction of displacement and the two ends of which form the two stops, the displacer can also be a rotary displacer having an angled recess. The rotary displacer can also be described as a turntable but it does not have to have a circular shape. Side walls of the angled recess of the rotary displacer form the two jointly movable stops. The side walls of the angled recess of the rotary displacer are spaced apart from one other in the circumferential direction or, that is, the direction of rotation, that is to say in the direction of movement of the rotary displacer.

In one embodiment of the invention there is provided a cover which is connected in terms of drive to the holding ring and which as a result is opened when the holding ring is raised and closed when the holding ring is lowered. The holder can also have two or more covers. Opening and closing of the cover is accomplished by raising and lowering the holding ring.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic for the present invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective sectional view of a holder according to the invention in the open position;

FIG. 2 is a front view of the inventive holder of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows the inventive holder according to FIG. 2 in the half-closed position; and

FIG. 4 shows the inventive holder according to FIG. 2 in the closed position.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The holder 1 according to the invention, which is shown in the drawings, is intended for installation in a motor vehicle (not shown). It is used for holding a beverage container (also not shown) such as, for example, a beverage can, a cup, a beaker or a bottle so that it does not tip over.

The holder 1 has a drawer-like housing 2, which is square in plan view and open to the top and which accommodates a holding ring 3. In plan view, the holding ring 3 also has a square periphery and a circular insertion opening 4 for insertion of the beverage container (not shown). By means of a guideway (not shown in the drawings), the holding ring 3 is vertically guided in the housing 2 so as to be movable upwards and downwards; it can perform a reciprocating movement between a raised position (shown in FIGS. 1 and 2) and a lowered position (shown in FIG. 4). The spatial terms “raised” and “lowered”, “movable upwards” and “movable downwards” are used with reference to an intended installation position of the holder 1.

On two opposite sides, the holding ring 3 has toothed racks 5 which lead downwards, that is to say in the displacement direction of the holding ring, and which have toothed arrangements 6 on both sides of the toothed racks 4. The toothed racks 5 mesh with two gear wheels 7, which are arranged on both sides of the toothed racks 5 and which are rotatably mounted on the outside of side walls S of the housing 2. Toothed arrangements 9 on the gear wheels 7 in each case extend over only part of the circumferences of the gear wheels 7. The gear wheels 7 have outwardly projecting arms 10, which are integral to the gear wheels 7. At their outer ends, the arms 10 carry a respective cover 11, which extends parallel to the notional axes of rotation of the gear wheels 7. The holder 1 accordingly has two covers 11.

The holder 1 has a leg spring 12, the legs of which are pivotally attached to the gear wheels 7, For the purpose of attachment, ends of the legs of the leg spring 12 are bent at an angle of 90° and engage in holes in the gear wheels 7. The holes in the gear wheels 7 are so arranged that, when the gear wheels 7 are turned, they move closer together from the position shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, as far as the position shown in FIG. 3 and, on further turning, they again move further apart from one another and into the position shown in FIG. 4.

The leg spring 12 is accordingly subject to greatest stressing in the position shown in FIG. 3, the pre-stressing of the leg spring 12 being less in the end positions shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 4. The leg spring 12 will be referred to hereinbelow as the dead-center spring element; its mode of action will become clear in the description of the mode of operation of the holder 1 further hereinbelow, Another term for the dead-center spring element 12 is the stable spring.

The holder 1 has a rotary displacer 13. This is a disc which is rotatably mounted on the side wall S of the housing 2. The rotary displacer 13 is located on that side of the gear wheels 7 and toothed rack 5 which is remote from the side wall 8; its notional axis of rotation is located between the two gear wheels 7. The rotary displacer 13 has a recess 14, which extends to a limited extent in the circumferential direction. A pin 15, which projects out from a side face of one of the gear wheels 7, extends into the recess 14. Side walls of the recess 15 in the rotary displacer 13, extending in the radial direction of the latter, form stops 16, which co-operate with the pin 15 and which are jointly movable as a result of rotation of the rotary displacer 13.

At the top, the rotary displacer 13 projects through a slot 17 in a facing plate 18 of the housing 2 of the holder 1. At that point it has a manipulation projection 19 protruding from its circumference. The rotary displacer 13 forms an operating element for opening and closing the covers 11 and for raising and lowering the holding ring 3 of the holder 1 according to the invention. The rotary displacer 13 is depicted by broken lines as if transparent so that the gear wheels 7 and toothed rack 5 located behind it can be seen. The rotary displacer 13 forming the operating element acts on the holding ring 3 indirectly by way of the gear wheel 7 and the toothed rack 5.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show the holder 1 with opened covers 11 and a raised holding ring 3. The holder 1 is in a use position, in which a beverage container can be inserted in the insertion opening 4 of the holding ring 3. In order to lower the holding ring 3 and close the covers 11, the rotary displacer 13 forming the operating element is turned at the manipulation projection 19 in one direction—the clockwise direction in the drawing. In the process, a first stop-16-forming side wall of the recess 14 in the rotary displacer 13 pushes the pin 15 of one of the gear wheels 7 downwards. The gear wheel 7 is turned as a result and moves the toothed rack 5 downwards together with the holding ring 3.

The toothed rack 5 drives the other gear wheel 7 so that both gear wheels 7 are turned synchronously in opposite directions of rotation. As a result, the covers 11 are turned upwards and close the holder 1. FIG. 4 shows the lowered position of the holding ring 3 and the closed covers 11; FIG. 3 shows an intermediate position.

The rotary displacer 13 has, as a return spring, a spiral spring which turns the rotary displacer 13 into the neutral position shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. For reasons of clarity, the spiral spring has not been included in the drawing.

The drive for raising and lowering the holding ring 3 and for opening and closing the covers 11, namely the two gear wheels 7, the toothed rack 5 arranged between them and meshing with them, and the leg spring 12 forming the dead-center spring element, are provided in register with one another on the outsides of the two opposite side walls 8 of the housing 2.

When the gear wheels 7 are turned, the holes in the gear wheels 7, in which the bent ends of the legs of the dead-center spring element 12 in the form of a leg spring engage, come closer together until they have the minimum spacing from one another in the dead-center position shown in FIG. 3. In the process, the dead-center spring element 12 is subjected to greater stressing. Once the dead center has been overcome, the holes move away from one another, the dead-center spring element 12 partially relaxes and pushes the holes in the gear wheels 7 apart. As a result, the dead-center spring element 12 turns the gear wheels 7 into the end position shown in FIG. 4, in which the holding ring 3 is lowered and the covers 11 are closed. In the end position too, the dead-center spring element 12 is subjected to pre-stressing and holds the gear wheels 7 and, by way thereof, the holding ring 3 and the covers 11 in the end position.

On letting go of the rotary displacer 13 forming the operating element, the spiral spring (not shown) forming the return spring turns the rotary displacer 13 back into the neutral position, in which the other side wall of the recess 14 in the rotary displacer 13, which other side wall forms the second stop 16, abuts the pin 15 of the first gear wheel 7. The size of the recess 14 in the circumferential direction is selected so that the rotary displacer 13 has a degree of play which makes possible its return to the neutral position when the gear wheel 7 provided with the pin 15 occupies its particular end position.

Opening the covers 11 and raising the holding ring 3 is accomplished by turning the rotary displacer 13 from the neutral position in the opposite direction, that is to say anticlockwise in the drawing. The other side wall of the recess 14 in the rotary displacer 13, which other side wall forms the second stop 16, pushes the pin 15 in the opposite direction to before, that is to say upwards, and turns the gearwheel 7. The gearwheel 7 moves the toothed rack 5 upwards and in the process raises the holding ring 3. By way of the toothed rack 5, the other gear wheel 7 is also driven so that the two covers 11 open when the holding ring 3 is raised. As described before, the holes in the gear wheels 7, in which holes the ends of the legs of the dead-center spring element 12 engage, come closer together until they reach the dead-center position shown in FIG. 3.

After the dead-center position has been overcome, the dead-center spring 12 pushes the holes in the gear wheels 7 outwards and turns the latter until they reach their end positions. In the process, the gear wheels 7 raise the holding ring 3 by way of the toothed rack 5 and turn the covers 11 into the open position, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together, may also find a useful application in other types of constructions differing from the types described above.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in a holder for a beverage container, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention. 

1. A holder for a beverage container, comprising a holding ring in which a beverage container is insertable; a guideway which guides said holding ring so that it is movable up and down between a raised position and a lowered position; a dead-center spring element which, after a dead-center in one direction has been overcome, urges said holding ring into said raised position and, after the dead center in the other direction has been overcome, urges said holding ring into said lowered position; and an operating element which acts on said holding ring with play.
 2. A holder for a beverage container as defined in claim 1, wherein said operating element is configured so that such play of said operating element is about half of a displacement of said holding ring.
 3. A holder for a beverage container as defined in claim 1, wherein said holder has a return spring which urges said operating element into a neutral position.
 4. A holder for a beverage container as defined in claim 1, wherein said holder has two jointly movable stops, configured so that one of said stops drives said holding ring upwards and the other of said stops drives said holding ring downwards, with a spacing in between said stops bringing about a desired play.
 5. A holder for a beverage container as defined in claim 4, wherein said operating element is configured as a displacer having a recess with edges which are spaced apart in a direction of movement of said displacer and form said two stops.
 6. A holder for a beverage container as defined in claim 1, further comprising a cover connected as a drive to said holding ring and configured so that it opens when said holding ring is raised and closes when said holding ring is lowered. 